Volkswagen Beetle 2.0 TSI launched – RM220k

Volkswagen Group Malaysia has announced the introduction of the Beetle 2.0 TSI in the country. The variant was showcased at the Volkswagen Das Auto Show 2012 back in September (it’s the one in yellow in the photos), which was when the 1.2 TSI version of the Bug made its Malaysian debut.

The vehicle’s 2.0 litre TSI mill, good for 200 PS, is paired to a six-speed DSG transmission, and performance figures include a 223 km/h top speed and a 0-100 km/h time of 7.5 seconds.

The car arrives in a “Sport Line” package trim, which contains unique specification highlights not found on other models – these include a four-link rear suspension, twin chromed exhaust pipes, red brake calipers and a body-coloured rear diffuser.

Other items on the list are ‘Twister’ 18-inch alloy wheels, bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights, aluminium pedals and an XDS Extended Electronic Differential Lock.

This one also wears a panoramic sunroof, which can be tilted or opened and is 80% larger in terms of glass surface area compared to the one on the New Beetle. It’s transparent, but the insulating glass blocks 99% of UV radiation and 92% of heat energy, so the numbers go.

The car also is equipped with a RCD 510 touchscreen audio system with an integrated six-disc CD changer, a two-zone electronic climate control system, cruise control and gloss black door mirrors.

Six colours are available for the 2.0 TSI, and these are Tornado Red, Saturn Yellow, Reflex Silver, Deep Black, Reef Blue and Oryx White. As for pricing, it rolls in at RM219,888, which is a RM80k premium over the 1.2 TSI.

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

Would you dare to buy a car for RM220k when the DSG gearboxes have a bad reputation for high failure rate? What happens after the 5 year warranty? Who is going to give me RM50,000 to replace the DSG gearbox? I am one of many who keep my car more than five years, what to do then?

There is nothing wrong wit the DSG gearbox. Do you own a VW? I you do and you have used it for more than 5 years, 10 years even, you wont encounter any serious problems with the DSG? All those DSG rumors are made up by mostly competitors that cannot match them in terms of reliability, power or fuel efficiency.

I have no idea why whn you are at a traffic light with a VW Golf, the owner likes to rev and show off to you as if he is driving a Porsche. I have a 520d and somehow I have seen this so many times. I asked many friends and they confirm the same thing. VW owners have some sort of inferiority complex that they will try to race with you at the traffic lights just to show they own a “Porsche”. Aiyoo VW owners, your cars are not Porsche lah, its just a VW. In overseas, its just a normal and cheap car. VW means “Common Car”. Even the garbage collector in Europe also drive VW. And yet here, owners in Malaysia want to rev and race with people on the road just to prove a point that they are bigger and better than other cars. VW owners, our roads are not for racing, deal with your inferirity complex in some other way.

I know garbage collectors who drive BMW too. Your point being? As I know, in Europe they are paid highly because nobody wants to do it. Coming back to your comment, there are morons in any cars. It has nothing to do with the car. If these ah bengs switch from their Type-R and STi to VW because it’s happening, does it make the car bad? There was one period when loads of pimps switched to Beemers too. It comes and goes.

The fact that you can complain about such a small matter just shows how small minded you are… like most BMW owners I know. Which is why I will always take a Merc over a BMW any day. Just because of the type of people BMW attracts.

Ha Ha spending RM200,000 on a VW. Is it really the Malaysian government or VW giving us that high price. Mind you, previously, people thought taxes was 300%, so they paid whatever commanded by the seller. But now, after PKR’s Turunkan Harga Kereta Campaign, we all know that maximum taxes and duties just amount to ONLY 130%. So, how come this car can be RM200,000 and Toureg is RM488,888?

Hello Malaysian, pakai lah otak. The car is so cheap overseas. Infact VW is a normal car overseas. Its like Proton in Malaysia. It is so ridiculously cheap overseas. But somehow, VW owners like to siouk (syok) sendiri thinking they are driving an equivalent to a Bentley. Let me reiterate, VW, though maybe very good in quality (with the exception of countless of faulty DSG), is NOT a luxury and only a fool would pay luxury prices for a VW in Malaysia. Infact, the whole range of VW are so way overpriced. People in Malaysia need to break away from this thinking that the car is at par with Audi, Mec and BMW. Its NOT.

You would spend RM20,000 on a Rolex, but would you spend RM10,000 on a Citizen or a Seiko? Most stupid Malaysians might just do that if Citizen and Seiko market their watches in Malaysia associated with prestige and class. But we all know better.

Only a fool would encourage the government to put car prices high. Intelligent people argue for lower prices so that ALL may benefit from safer cars, not just the elite few who are rich. Why can’t a poor man also enjoy the safety of a German car too like in Germany?
One must be very foolish, immature and even arrogant to encourage high prices on basic necessities like a car. This is the arrogance of the rich wanting to control the poor and the masses. Soon, they will ask the government to raise the prices of rice and food, so that ALL cannot enjoy. Grow up lah, how immature one can be to want high prices. Selfish behaviour. It is better for ALL rich and poor to enjoy safe cars.

PLease la, VW IS NOT LIKE PROTON!!! There are no other cars LIKE PROTON!!! VW is not Government funded. VW is NOT the cheapest car in Europe. They cost more than Opel, Fiat, Renault, Toyota, Honda and are priced just below Audi, BMW and Merc. Please DON’T COMPARE WITH PROTON!!! They are common in Europe because most Germans can afford them!

Income tax in the US is not 50% lah. Check your facts before giving people false information. That is what our government tells the Kampung people to justify the super exorbitant high prices. And as usual, the kampung people just believe anything told to them. Infact income tax in the Us is the same as Malaysia if you look at it carefully. So, why are we paying 3 times the prices of cars?

Yes, expected it to be 180-190k. The gap is too huge between 1.2 and 2.0. Usually car dealer will only offer slightly higher price for better specs/engine to lure buyers to buy highest spec. But this one, I dont know.

Man, this is very expensive, even more expensive than the Golf GTI. And I don’t expect those driving the beetle to be zooming like the GTIs, so will be interesting to see how many units can be sold. Maybe can wait for the pre-reg units! VW (M) has not quite live up to VW’s tagline of being the People’s Car.

I believe VW should have their own spectrum of cars which ranges from affordable ones to go with their tag as people’s car to premium models for upscale market, similar to Toyota’s Innova vs Alphard. Yes, I do agree that even their entry level models ( eventhough rather better speced than Japanese cars) is expensive for Malaysian commoner. Having said that, any brand of car with 2.0 litre turbo engine with 6 speeds is not likely to be aimed for the mass.

Hm…I wonder why Volkswagen Malaysia is delaying bringing in the 1.4TSI model instead. That seems to be more economical and somewhat more affordable. With the current price tag, it’s better to buy the Golf GTi. More spacious and it make more ringgit sense

Girls will look at you as a more mature man, mature in thinking.
Well, if we just like the shape and look of a Beetle of old time, then we can just get a new one at RM140K. No need to look hard for a 2nd-hand to rework on it. No need to spend RM220K, afterall it is just a toy to keep. We are not going to drive it to our office, neither are we going to drive it as a sportcar.

RCZ is way too slow to compare to a GTI, whether a Golf or Polo. Century sprint 8.4s for auto version can’t even keep up with a Golf TSI! Leave prestige claims aside for now, not going to bother with that.

Real car people appreciate the amount of engineering and technology that has gone into the Golf GTI and as much as people complain about the price, IMHO it is a lot of car for the money. The DSG and XDS are amazing leaps in motoring technology, with great execution to boot on VW’s part.

Say what you want about your RCZ, it may win you looks but from a serious driver’s standpoint many would disagree. With a long line of rave reviews, the Golf GTI is still the car to beat.

Complaints about government (Register to vote, get as many people to do so, and do what you think is right. Your comments here will never be taken seriously by anyone.)

Debates on brand prestige (A car is just a car, you pay for what you get in terms of design, engineering or features. Chasing prestige shows that you gain happiness from making others envious. Dedicating your life to pursuing prestige alone makes it certain that your life mission is to instil envy)

Generalization of drivers of a certain brand/model (This is akin to racism, in a very crude sense. Keep it to yourself as no one needs to know. It reflects very badly on you, and on us Malaysians when foreigners read here.)

Complaints about expensive prices, especially when compared to overseas markets (In most cases, when people quote prices of similar models in other countries, it is always the BASE price. VW Golfs come in a multitude of engines globally, starting from the cheapest 1.2l NA engine with less than 90hp. Auto transmission, power windows, metallic paint and even floor mats are optional kit. Do keep this in mind when comparing and ALWAYS check your facts before you relay them, don’t spread inaccurate data)

There is a stark and glaring difference between the motoring community that comments here and those that are from other countries. They provide constructive comments, based on facts and not emotion. They use proper grammar and spelling, which is telling of a rich-knowledge community. They also keep politics and racism out of the discussion.

My first comment, this is. Apologies for the negative tone but I’ve had a bit too much to drink. LOL. Sincere kudos to Paul Tan and his team for the blog, you guys are doing a great job.

i got a motorbike for rempiting, a new toyota wish for balik kampung, a extreme 1.5 myvi for market, a viva for my daughter jalan-jalan…and of course i’m a mat rempit…but i work hard for money & fun…u go complain here and there la bro..dont forget to take the RM500 G want to give u…

I like your positive thinking. People, If you want to drive nice car in this country where you know everything is expensive for you… so work harder and make more money instead of blaming other people or G. You is what is you’re driving!

In USA, camry just a normal car, in Malaysia, rich people only afford downgraded camry.
In USA, GT86 cost about RM90000, here, bloody RM250000.
Who can we blame? No matter how hard we work, we still driving shit.. so tell me what can I do? Sue the G?

rich ppl can afford downgraded camry? lol.. dude, there are alot of rich ppl in Malaysia and even richer than Americans. and the rich dont have time to drop by comment. they will only receive called from dealer to check out the cars and pay deposit to buy it.

Beetle and Mini, both are iconic cars, as they have their past well-known historic records. They were affordable during that time.. Mini was welcome during that high oil price & stressful economy time, ppl need economic car..

yeah dude, i was being sarcastic. come on.. we all know myvi has 3 euro NCAP and less airbag..i will upgrade soon! definitely not local brand or tofu cars. just the matter of time, after the next GE maybe?

well the extra cc makes a big difference on the tsi engines. i’ve got the 1.8 audi a4 and ive tried the 2.0… there’s a major difference.

anyways not to be totally off topic, this car really is overpriced. especially since the beetle wouldnt be a person’s first choice primary car. More likely a toy/fun car. e.g if you had 200-250k to spend on a car which will be your everyday car, the odds are that you’ll be looking at the bmws, audis, mercs and even the lexus which would be alot more value for money in terms of practicality and image(if youre that sort of person)

Also porsche, audi, vw and skoda(if im not mistaken) are all under the same group. And they market the brands luxury accordingly. Porsche being highest and skoda lowest.

i think the logic is that VW Malaysia figured it won’t sell the New Beetle in a much greater number if it priced it lower than RM220k, and they may have some other variants of Beetle to bring in too, that will be bridge the gap between 1.2 and 2.0, hence the price. This is definitely a risk, whether or not it will pay off depend very much on how people perceive the whole New Beetle thing. i think it’s overpriced, but heck, so is Mini, and i don’t think Mini is doing very poorly in Malaysia.

Put it another way, if I can’t afford and/or don’t like jaguh kampung No. 2 crappy junk metal, then you ask P1 to close shop, and let T, H, N, VW, etc offer best quality car at lowest price so that I can afford and like it so much!!!!!!

My take of the profile of a typical driver of VW Beetle :
@ for the old Beetle model : a secondary school teacher ( at least at my old school in the 60’s); middle level G servants,managers )
@ for the new retro Beetle : young chicks generously maintained by some sugar-daddy,young male ” softies” with dyed brown hair , probably spotting a diamond earing on the left ear / some gay group members.Don’t expect a contractor to drive this car ( but as a sugar daddy he doesn’t mind buying one for his doll whom he wld lovingly call Darling Bettina .. Beetle for my Bettina ).
So , start tracking the movement of this new Beetle and check whether my theory is right.

you are so wrong my fren. u go shanghai, taiwan, singapore and see what is the majority cars there. you will be damn surprise. fyi beetle and mini are not exclusive car. only those like pagani, enzo, mclaren and other supercar are.

VW is targeting those who were in the era of of “Hippies” and “Flower-Power” who dreamt to own one but can’t afford and are now in their 60s and 70s with plenty of money to throw away. Maybe even to re-live their youth by buying one for daughter or mistress.

So expensive for a VW Beetle. The market in Malaysia is getting crazy these days. Normal everyday iconic cars are being resurrected at sky high prices. Take the 86 and the Mini for example! Used to be working class car and look what it has become! Crazy!

Only for those who need to flaunt and feel different, same reason why you buy an LV bag .If you got the money, no one can tell you how to spend it, but if you have to put yourself in serious debt to own this car, you are not that smart.

We ought to come up with an awareness portal to help consumers, ie. ourselves, fight for our rights, boycot the products if the prices are ridiculously high, compare products and have a voting system – which products are value for money. Oh and dont forget, which have the highest resale value (this is to cater for T&H loyalists). With awareness, we wont let these greedy bastards take us for fools and rob us on broad daylight.

ppl please dont whine about car price. i dont agree with high car price but we also should not compare dollar to dollar with other country. i rmb when 6 series Gran Coupe just launched, ppl were whining about how expensive. but i’ve seen a few on the road already. lol..

I quite like the Beetle 2.0 TSI…but not RM220K like! Handing over my hard-earned ringgit into the grubby paws of the cronies & AP kings, even when I could eventually afford one…feels like a crime is being committed against me…

Only in Malaysia is the People’s Car beyond the people’s reach…unless, maybe, if we vote wisely…and say enough is enough

Looking at your line of comments, you are the epitome of the backward Malaysian citizen! I would stop right here if I were you, and start thinking about your children’s and great grand children’s future once your RCZ has depreciated to pittens.

This is ridiculous pricing. Where does the govt & VW come up with these figures??? A lot of you may say if can’t afford then go buy something else..but this crazy random pricing of mediocre cars will only damage the market in the long run.

Imagine the beemers, mercs, audis jacking up their prices now because they see that a non-luxury brand is pushing the RM200k mark. Already the GT86 is selling for 200k++, this is a worrying ripple effect that will only crush the aspirations of the hardwoking Malaysian.

How can a freaking beetle be as expensive as hot hatches like the Rocco 2.0, gti, megane RS, MPS, etc..the sad part is that we will be seeing a lot of these 2.0 beetles on the road because poor little rich boys and girls will get their daddies to buy for them. Because nobody in thei right mind will pay with their own money for a beetle that cost 200k+…..

We must stop this mentality that if you can’t afford then buy something cheaper. This is because we should try to be smarter consumers as it is our hard earned money that we are departing with.

I am not stating any facts that proof our govt AP system is corrupt but just using this 2.0 beetle as an example we can clearly see some sort of flexible pricing. Just compare the brand value of VW and the and that of BMW. A F30 320i is starting at RM230k, that’s 30k more then a beetle…

So don’t shut up and buy something cheaper. We all deserved to drive good cars. Safe cars. Cars that you will fall in love with and not something you have to settle for. I mean that’s why u visit paultan right? Cause you love cars. No company should be allowed to place a premium on their product if it is unjustifiable.

And if you are going to reply to my comment, please use ur big head and not the small one down there. Tks

4) I for once, if this Beetle selling at market price for around RM 60 to 70K, I can line my house with one unit of this, apart from Estima MPV, or perhaps MyVi for go to market!

Thank you Rafizi in advance if you make my wish come true. I don’t mind to pay petrol price at market rate at around RM 3.50 per liter for non oil producing countries. For MY is OPEC member, it is a blessing if Petrol sold at RM 1.10 per liter!!!!!!!

I really love reading the comments here …..really make my day esp when i dont have anything to do at the office. Seriously, whatever the reasons since have the purchasing power, just buy what u can afford and forget those cars which u think are beyond your budget or within your budget but u dont feel like buying. The price maybe high for this car but if there is no demand for very few demands for sure the price will drop eventually. Talk about supply and demand. Dont waste time complaining for things u cannot change. That is what a loser always does.

election coming soon ma! and our car policy is dictated by the silly bn regime and not by market forces.
that is why, you get silly asking price for decent cars like vw and shit cars like protons being “forced” on the people by the actions of 1 porsche driving TUn.
and dont talk about working harder for that dream car, cars are necessary tools for transport to work in a socalled soon to be developed country with no reliable public transport. how much harder you work also, you will only get by lah, unless you are crony, or children of ministers who can roll around in Hummer (not his) or buy condos with cow money from the bn regime. not forgetting the lambo driving fella whose ikan bakar shops have all lingkup!

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